Justin Harwood is a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

ist, notable for his work with several

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

bands of the 1980s and 1990s, The Chills,

Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin, Spanish and other languages * Luna (goddess) In Sabine and ancient Roman religion and myth, Luna is the divine embodiment of the Moon (Latin ''Lūna'' ). She is often presented as t ...

, and

Tuatara The tuatara (''Sphenodon punctatus'') is a species of reptile endemic to New Zealand. Despite its close resemblance to lizards, it is actually the only extant member of a distinct lineage, the previously highly diverse order Rhynchocephal ...

. He worked alongside New Zealand's Martin Phillipps (The Chills),

Dean Wareham Dean Wareham (born 1 August 1963) is an American musician and actor who co-founded the band Galaxie 500 in 1987. He departed from Galaxie 500 in April 1991 and went on to establish the band Luna (1990s American band), Luna. Following Luna's di ...

(

Galaxie 500 Galaxie 500 was an American indie rock band that formed in 1987 and split up in 1991 after releasing three studio albums: '' Today'' (1988), '' On Fire'' (1989), and '' This Is Our Music'' (1990). The band membership comprised guitarist and v ...

, Luna), and

Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.; he played the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his caree ...

(

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

Early life

Harwood was born in Taradale, Napier (North Island).

Career

Harwood was a member of the Chills from 1986 to 1990, during which time they had their biggest commercial success with the singles I Love My Leather Jacket (a New Zealand top 5 single) and Heavenly Pop Hit, which went to number 17 on the U.S.

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...

chart). During this time, The Chills also performed before their largest audience ever. They drew 60,000 people at the 1987

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

. After leaving The Chills, Harwood moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he became a founding member of Luna. In 1996, Harwood joined forces with several noted members of indie rock groups to form a side-project, the semi-experimental band Tuatara - named, at Harwood's suggestion, after a type of reptile from his native New Zealand.

Filmography

* 2013-2016: ''High Road'' (TV series short) – Writer, Director, Editor, Composer * 2017: ''Wilde Ride'' (TV series) – Writer, Director * 2019: ''The Chills: The Triumph and Tragedy of Martin Phillipps'' (Documentary) – self

Works and publications

* *

References

External links

* * * New Zealand bass guitarists New Zealand male bass guitarists Living people The Minus 5 members Tuatara (band) members Luna (1990s American band) members The Chills members Year of birth missing (living people) People from Taradale, New Zealand New Zealand guitarists {{NewZealand-musician-stub